Due to environmental concerns pertaining to the use of fossil fuels in connection with generating electric power, including the non-renewability of such fossil fuels and carbon emissions and other pollutants generated when fossil fuels are burned, an increasing amount of research and funding has been directed towards systems that utilize renewable energy resources to generate power. These systems include solar power plants, wind turbines, geothermal power systems, and the like. An exemplary solar power system is a solar power tower (which can also be referred to as a central tower power plant, a heliostat power plant, or a power tower). A solar power tower utilizes an elevated central receiver to collect focused solar radiation from a plurality of reflectors, such as heliostats (mirrors). Solar radiation is reflected from the reflectors and concentrated at the central receiver where a fluid is heated. The heating of the fluid can cause a turbine to be driven to generate electric power. Another exemplary solar power system includes arrays of photovoltaic modules that are configured to convert solar radiation to electric energy. Photovoltaic modules are often installed on rooftops of structures, and in some installations, include numerous modules such that a field of photovoltaic modules is employed to generate electric energy.
It is recognized that mirrors and photovoltaic modules are composed of reflective materials, such that solar radiation that impacts these devices reflects therefrom, potentially directing the irradiance to an eye of a human being. In some instances, irradiance perceived by an observer can be sufficient to, for example, temporarily or permanently impair vision of the observer, which can further lead to undesired consequences. For example, it is undesirable to impair the vision of a motorist, airplane pilot, or the like. When designing buildings, solar power installations, etc., it is therefore desirable to take into consideration potential hazards of glint and glare, wherein glint can be defined as a momentary flash of light, while glare can be defined as a more continuous source of excessive brightness relative to ambient lighting.
Conventionally, to assess potential glare hazards, consultants analyze the geometry of the proposed solar installation system relative to key observation points. Regions where glare can occur at various times throughout the year are analyzed, but no indication of the intensity of glint or glare and their potential ocular impact are provided. In addition, the Sun is treated as a collimated light source (laser beam) with no spreading of the light rays caused by either the size of the Sun or from surface scattering during reflection.